Structural composite insulated panel and method of manufacturing

ABSTRACT

A structural composite insulated panel having a plurality of truss members arrayed in substantially parallel relation at a substantially equal interval so as to define a plurality of cells therebetween. The panel has an insulating member disposed in each of the cells, the panel has two opposing elongated side panel surfaces defined by side surfaces of the cells, and two opposing end panel surfaces defined by the respective end surfaces of two outermost cells of the panel, the two side panel surfaces are substantially perpendicular to the two end panel surfaces and the plurality of truss members. The panel has a pair of prismatic members, each parallely engaged to the respective side panel surfaces. The panel has a pair of locking members, each at the respective end panel surfaces and engaged thereat to the prismatic members to provide compressive locking tension to the insulating members and the trusses in the panel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to provisional patent application No. 60/891,496, provisional patent application No. 60/891,494, and provisional patent application 60/909,419, which are hereby incorporated by reference.

DESCRIPTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to the field of structural panels and more specifically to panel composition, manufacturing process and installation and construction with those panels.

2. Background of the Invention

Structural Concrete Insulating Panels (SCIP) are typically composed of two or more structural shells that are separated with an insulating material and connected via steel trusses 1 or 1 a. In a typical SCIP panel, the shells are fabricated from concrete, the insulating material is foam and the trusses 1 or 1 a are composed of steel wire. Such SCIPs are used in building homes and other structures, by relatively unskilled laborers, and are pre-fabricated and sent to the job site. SCIP panels are advantageous in that the same type of panel may be used to erect walls, floors, ceilings, and roofs, provide good insulation, high sound-proofing, and may be produced with environmentally friendly materials. Disadvantageously, the cost of implementing SCIPs can become high due to costs associated with meeting building code requirements, fabrication and construction costs.

There are several companies in the US and worldwide that manufacture SCIPs. Such as Green Sandwich Technologies, Tri-D(3-D) Panels, Impact Panels, M2 Panels, and others. They all employ foam as insulating material, wire mesh for shell reinforcement and some kind of wire truss system for connecting the shells together through the insulating foam. They differ only by the type of trussing system that connects them or they have the same trussing system, but differ in method of manufacturing.

For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,487,248 and 6,718,712 both disclose pre-fabricated structural panels and a method of fabrication, which utilizes commercially available panel components, and uses compression method of rigid foam blocks employing trusses 1 or 1 a in between them. Wire-mesh is used at both surfaces of the panel and clipped to the truss apexes in order to provide compression of rigid foam blocks and make manufacturing of the panel possible.

The '248 and '712 patents disclose a method of fabrication that has several disadvantages which makes the panels inferior to the competing panels on the market. The main disadvantage of the panels in the '248 and '712 patents is that it is practically impossible to manufacture the panels in a sufficiently compact and compressed manner for easy handling and installation without the panels falling part. Specifically, such panels tend to suffer from the defect of having the foam blocks sliding off the panels due to insufficient compression holding the panels together. In other words, although the '248 and '712 patents claim that the panel should be compressed and restrained in that compressed position by means of attaching wire meshes on both sides, this is in practice very difficult to achieve. The problem lies in the fact that the wire mesh is attached to the trusses 1 or 1 a using C-rings, which are not as tight as a weld. To tighten the wire mesh connection with the panel, the lines of the wire in the wire mesh need to be perfectly aligned with the line of the cord of the trusses 1 or 1 a. This is not always possible and this results in panels manufactured with inconsistent levels of tightness and gaps. The other reason that the panels are not tight enough is that the wire mesh should be place at a certain distance from the face of the foam. So the restraining stiffness of the wire mesh is limited by the bending stiffness of the trusses 1 or 1 a that cantilever out from the foam to reach the wire mesh. For the typical type of wire trusses 1 or 1 a that are practical to be used in these panels their out of plane bending stiffness is very limited and therefore the system of the compressing the panels through wire mesh and cantilever portion of the trusses 1 or 1 a is limited.

Another disadvantage of the panels described in '248 and '712 patents is that although such patents teach that the truss spacing is arbitrary, this is not accurate. It appears that the truss spacing is limited by a multiple of the size of the wire mesh that is used to hold the panel in compression.

Another disadvantage of the panels described in '248 and '712 patents is that the wire mesh, which is an integral part of the panel that holds it together in the '712 patent, is one of the most expensive components in the manufacturing of the panel. There is therefore a need for a substitute for the wire mesh that is less expensive and more effective at providing tightening to the panel to keep the foam retained between the trusses 1 or 1 a.

Since wire meshes is typically manufactured in limited widths (usually 4 feet), the width of a panel constructed according to the '712 patent would be limited by the available wiremesh in practice. There is therefore a need to replace the wiremesh with structure that would allow for manufacturing of panels of any desired width that is not dictated by the wiremesh market. Producing larger panels could result in efficiencies realized during installation of the panels at the job site.

Since the panels in U.S. Pat. Nos. '248 and '712 must be manufactured with the wire mesh attached, it becomes difficult to install utilities (plumbing, electrical, HVAC, etc.) which must be either “fished” through behind the wire mesh, or the wire mesh must be cut and stitched back. Thus, use of the wire mesh alone creates this cumbersome task for installation of such utilities and it would be beneficial to replace the wiremesh with some structure that does not impede such installation.

Another disadvantage of the '248 and '712 patents is that during installation the panels, the wire mesh on both sides of the panels have to be stitched together by overlaying an additional strip of wire mesh over the connection line of neighboring panels and attached to both panels by C-rings, which adds to the cost of construction.

A further disadvantage of the '712 patent is that the installation of the panel requires skilled and expensive labor due to the use of plastering. Such application of plastering can vary and be inconsistent since there is nothing provided in the panel for preserving the exact thickness of plastered shells. Such thickness is a critical value for engineering these panels and there is thus a tendency to have low quality control during installation of the panels.

Additionally, the issue of out-of-plain resistance of the panels is not properly resolved in the '712 patent. Particularly, based on engineering principles, it is important for SCIP panels to have a stiffening rib in between two or more plaster shells after a specified distance, analogous to the blocking of walls and floors in wood construction.

Another cost increasing component in SCIP construction is the problem of splicing the SCIPs to cover long spans or construction of tall walls. Traditionally, such panels are fabricated as one piece, using long press fabrication machines and are transported to the jobsite using special delivery trucks.

Finally, the method of the construction with SCIPs is not developed sufficiently to cover all outstanding issues. Particularly, the issue of joints of wall to floor connection and development of bond beams is not properly resolved during fabrication and is being done at the jobsite but melting the foam and trying to accommodate the rebar and panels creating problems during the construction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a 2-dimensional view of the panel perpendicular to the plane of the trusses 1 or 1 a;

FIG. 2 illustrates a 2-dimensional view of the panel in-line with the truss cords;

FIG. 3 illustrates items required for manufacturing the panel;

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate examples of restraining the pair of prismatic members (8), or the U-shaped rod (8 a), by clipping ties (9, 9 a, 9 b, 9 c) or bent metal;

FIG. 6 illustrates use of the flexible belt (10) with a tightening mechanism (11) that can be wrapped around the stack of alternating trusses (1 and/or 1 a) and insulating blocks (4) to compress and restrain them in a compressed manner;

FIG. 7 illustrates a panel utilizing U-shaped prismatic members (8 a);

FIG. 8 illustrates the details of a warren truss (1);

FIG. 9 illustrates details of ladder truss (1 a);

FIG. 10 illustrates a 2-dimensional elevational view of the panel having a stack of trusses (1 and/or 1 a) and insulating blocks (4) compressed against each other using prismatic members (8);

FIG. 11 illustrates the option of using the invented panel to employ a concrete wall in between insulating layers for extra loading capacity. As shown, that is achieved by filling the gap in between the insulating material layers with concrete (3) and using steel reinforcement (2) and (2 a) therein for usage of panels as Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF) for high load demand construction, like multi-story buildings.

FIGS. 12 through 15 show the 2-D plan view for several types of the invented panel. The type in FIG. 12 is for compressed panel with continuous trusses (1) running from one face of the panel to the other. The type in FIG. 13 has PVC pipe (14) or similar to tie both layers/faces of the panel together. The type in FIG. 14 is for cases when wide walls are desired and usage of continuous trusses and foam will be too costly. Thus, two separate panels of the type shown in FIG. 1, 2 are being used in the combination of type in FIG. 13, and are connected with PVC pipe or similar (14) having screw or bolt (15) in it connecting them together. The panel type in FIG. 15 is the special application multi-layer panels, which is similar to the one in FIG. 14, however has multiple layers of panels and stiffening members connecting therebetween.

FIG. 16 shows the 3-d view of elements that comprise the panel. They are shown in alignment, before they are compressed in direction perpendicular to trusses (1) and inline with the prismatic compression members (8).

FIG. 17 shows the 3-d view of assembled panel, after the elements shown in FIG. 16 have been compressed and the prismatic members (8) have been locked in place using clipping tie (9).

FIG. 18 shows the 3-d elevational view of the panel. The stack of trusses (1 and/or 1 a) and insulating blocks (4) are compressed against each other by means of prismatic members (8) or similar.

FIG. 19 shows the 3-d view of the option of using the invented panel to employ a concrete wall in between insulating layers for extra loading capacity. As shown, that is achieved by filling the gap in between the insulating material layers with concrete (3) and using steel reinforcement (2) and (2 a) therein for usage of panels as Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF) for high load demand construction, like multi-story buildings.

FIG. 20 shows a 3-d close-up view of the FIG. 17 at one of the clipping locations of the prismatic members (8) that hold the panels together in compression.

FIG. 21 shows a 3-d view of the elements that comprise the panel

FIG. 22 illustrates a channel; and

FIG. 23 illustrates the plastering control gauge in use

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention includes a structural composite insulated panel including a plurality of truss members arrayed in substantially parallel relation at a substantially equal interval so as to define a plurality of cells therebetween. The panel further includes an insulating member disposed in each of the plurality of cells, the panel having two opposing elongated side panel surfaces defined by side surfaces of the plurality of cells, and two opposing end panel surfaces defined by the respective end surfaces of two outermost cells of the panel, the two side panel surfaces being substantially perpendicular to the two end panel surfaces and the plurality of truss members. The panel further includes a single pair of prismatic members, each being parallely engaged to the respective side panel surfaces. The panel further includes a pair of locking members, each being at the respective end panel surfaces and engaged thereat to the pair of prismatic members so as to provide compressive locking tension to the insulating members and the plurality of trusses in the panel.

There is also provided a method of simplifying the plastering process by providing a plastering control gauge. With the plastering control gauge, relatively unskilled inexpensive laborer can achieve a high quality plastered surface, and increase quality control of the plaster shell, particularly, shell thickness control.

TABLE OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 1, 1a prefabricated wire truss 2, 2a regular steel reinforcing bars used in the reinforced concrete  3 concrete or other cementitious material  4 insulating blocks, usually blocks of rigid expanded foam 7, 7a angle or channel, usually from bent sheet metal 8, 8a prismatic rods, usually channels from bent plate 9, 9a, 9b, clipping ties 9c, 9d  10 strap made from metal of other material, any package strapping martial. 12, 12a metal screws or bolts  14 Insulating layer spacer, usually pvc pipe or bent plate  15 bolt or bent plate  21 truss support, usually from metal tube or similar  24 metal screw  26 shotcrete gauge, usually pvc pipe or similar  28 shotcrete gauge rail  31 assembly machine table strip  41 Bearings  51 assembly machine restraining end frame  61 assembly machine rails 110 Packaging strap lock 202 shotcrete or plaster

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A novice structural panel with one or more layers of insulation sandwiched between two or more layers of shell is introduced. The layers of insulation and layers or shell are in alternating order and connected to each other by steel wire trusses that are partially embedded in the shells while passing through the layer(s) of insulation. The insulation layer is usually comprised of rigid foam block, and the shell layers are made of concrete plaster or similar. The panel can be used in residential, commercial and industrial construction for walls as well as floor and roof slabs. They possess with high insulating and soundproofing characteristics, are resilient to mold and mildew.

The present invention relates to the prefabricated structural panels that are erected on site and concrete or other cementitious material is applied to create one or more layers of shell that are interconnected with wire trusses or similar. The panels can be used but are not limited to wall, floor, roof and ceiling construction for residential, commercial and industrial buildings as well as stand alone walls.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the panels are manufactured by stacking trusses and insulating material like foam in an alternating order. The alternating stack of trusses and insulation material are compressed against each other from both end of the stack by some kind of a pressing machine or similar. At two (2) or more locations, linear, preferably prismatic members like angles or channels are inserted on both sides of the insulating materials perpendicular to the plane of trusses. The order of placing the prismatic members and the stack of insulating materials and trusses can be switched, in which case the prismatic members can serve as guide for aligning the stack of insulating materials and trusses. These prismatic members are connected to each other at the ends by means of clipping ties or shaped and bent metal sheet belt, that holds the linear prismatic members together in axial tension and bears on the stack of trusses and insulating blocks. After releasing the machine imposed pressure on the stack of alternating trusses and insulating materials the stack tries to expand, but is held together by the clipping ties or metal sheet belts. This puts the prismatic members in tension. The tension in the prismatic members comes into equilibrium with compression in the stack of trusses and insulating materials. This tension and compression equilibrium creates stability and holds the trusses, insulating material, clipping ties and prismatic members together which comprise the novice invented panel

The stack of trusses (1 and/or 1 a) and insulating blocks (4) are compressed against each other by means of prismatic members (8). The latter is locked by clipping tie (9). Prismatic members (8) may be replaced by U-shaped members (8 a) and the clipping tie (9) may be replaced by (9 a,9 b,9 c,9 d) or similar;

Rectangular rings made from bent wire can be placed at two or more locations per pair of prismatic members to hold them together. The inner size of the rectangular ring will match the outer distance of the vertical compressing rod. By placing the ring around the pair of compressing rods they are held together so that they can not move away from each other. Note that they can not move towards each other either, since insulating blocks with a width that matches the inner distance of the vertical rods is placed between them.

The novice panels described above do not have to have wire mesh attached on both sides, although wire mesh or any other similar by type and/or performance material can be attached, if required for reasons other than holding the panel together in order to fabricate it. Such material can be installed on site and can be installed on multiple panels at the same time, eliminating the need for splicing and stitching panels together on site.

The trusses 1 or 1 a in the panels described above can be at any spacing since they do not have to be aligned with the multiple of the wire mesh size.

Wire mesh can be installed on the panels on site only if required for reasons other than holding the panel together and only after the utility lines (Plumbing, electrical, HVAC, etc.) are installed.

The prismatic members described above can have significant axial stiffness and put significant enough compressive pressure on the stack of the trusses 1 or 1 a and insulating material to make it stable and easy to handle for transportation and installation purposes.

The prismatic members on both sides of the insulating material together with the clipping ties or bent metal sheet clips as described above can be replaced by a long enough clipping belt or metal sheet belt that can go all around the stack of the trusses 1 or 1 a and insulating materials. This clipping or metal sheet belt will have a tightening and locking mechanism that will allow to tighten the belt so that it holds the stack of the trusses 1 or 1 a and insulating materials compressed together in a way similar to the prismatic members and the clipping tie do.

An angle or channel that has the same length as the insulating blocks and with that can fit between the two vertical prismatic members used to compress the panel, can be placed on the very bottom and on the very top of the alternating stack of insulation blocks and trusses 1 or 1 a to give it enough stiffness to be compressed at point locations (where the prismatic members are) and transfer that pressure along the entire length of the panel.

It is claimed inhere that this is a novice method of constructing a panel by compressing and holding together/restraining the alternating stack of trusses 1 or 1 a and blocks of insulating material by means of two or more rings of restrainers that placed around the stack of trusses 1 or 1 a and blocks of insulating material. The material and type of the rings that can be used in this invention are not limited to the ones shown inhere, namely: a pair of prismatic members (8) on each side of the stack of insulating blocks restrained at both ends, see FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5, by restrainer lock (9,9 a,9 b,9 c), see FIG. 3 through 5, a belt type restrainer (10) that goes around the stack of insulating blocks, see FIG. 6, and can be tightened by an arbitrary tightening mechanism (110). Packaging straps, widely used in shipping industry are a good alternative to the belts type restrainer described above.

The panels are intended to be used in construction industry as wall floor or roof members. Cementitious material like concrete or alike can be applied on the sides of the panel to give it a shell which gives the panel structural and insulating properties. If the shells need additional reinforcement besides the trusses 1 or 1 a, then that reinforcement can be attached to the trusses 1 or 1 a by twisted wire or by any other means.

In addition to the novice panel described above and shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 17 and 20, multi-layer panels can be manufactured by using the same methodology. To construct multilayer panels it is only needed to stack two or more lines of insulating blocks, placed at a certain distance (usually 1 inch to 18 inch), where each stack is restrained and compressed by prismatic members (8) similar to the way described in the case of a single layered panel with only one stack of the insulating blocks. Note that the trusses 1 or 1 a put between the insulating blocks can still run across all the stacks of the insulating blocks (4), and by doing this they connect the stacks of the insulating foams and form a panel, that has multiple layers of insulating blocks (4). See two layered examples in FIGS. 10 and 18.

Spacers, like PVC pipes (14) or similar, can be put between the stacks of the insulating blocks to give the panel extra rigidity and hold the stacks of insulating blocks at a given distance. Spacers can be put at the same locations where the compressing prismatic members (8) are, and can be attached to them. See two layered example in FIGS. 12 and 13

In the multi-layered panel described above, the trusses or 1 a that are in the truss-insulating block alternating stacks span over all the stacks of the insulating blocks forming a panel. Alternatively, the two or more single insulating block layer panels described in above, can be connected using Spacers, like PVC (14) pipes. PVC pipes are put perpendicular to the plain of the panels at the locations where the vertical compressing prismatic members (usually channels) occur. Two or more PVC pipes or alike, are placed per vertical compressing prismatic member location. There is no limit how many panels can be attached to each other to form a multi-layered panel. The length of the PVC pipe controls the distance between the vertical compressing rods of the neighboring stacks of insulating panels. See two layered example in FIGS. 14 and 15.

In case of multi-layered panels the space left between the stacks of the insulating blocks can be used to pass the utilities in any direction within the wall.

In case of multi-layered panels the space left between the stacks of the insulating blocks can be filled with reinforced concrete to create additional layers of shell for structural, load bearing, insulating and other reasons. See two layered example in FIG. 11.

When used in wall panels, it can be manufactured to have multiple layers. This is especially important for special applications, such as but not limited to refrigerator walls, sound studios, disproportionally thick walls, specified by the Architect, etc. Such multi-layer walls can be achieved by plurality of wall panels located at certain distance from each others connected with intermittent stiff elements therebetween.

Another advantage of the invented panel is that typical SCIP panels can be used for 3 to 4 story construction maximum, since for higher buildings the design thickness of cementitious skins at lower stories becomes very thick and hence impractical and expensive. With the novice panel which has a hollow core in between of foam layers, that core can be filled with concrete and rebar at lower stories and such walls will be compact and will have sufficient strength to carry the upper floors. Thus, the new panel can be used not only as a typical SCIP panel, but also can become an insulated concrete wall (also known in the construction industry as ICF wall) panel in lower stories.

The panel is comprised from sets of trusses between stiff insulating layers (4) that as a whole are hold under compression by prismatic members (8) or similar that run on each side of the insulating layer, perpendicular to the plane of the trusses (1). Each pair of tightening/compressing prismatic members (8) are located at each end so that they compress and restrain the stack of alternating trusses (1) and insulating layers (4).

The panel under U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/105,177 also uses trusses between stiff insulating blocks that as a whole are hold under compression by the wire meshes that are attached to the cords of the trusses by multiple numbers of clips. The problem with this configuration is that it is very difficult to pass enough pressure from the wire mesh to the truss and from the truss to the insulating blocks for the following reasons: (a) The wire of the wire mesh must be aligned with the trusses in order for them to be attached; (b) The wire mesh is attached to the cord of the truss by means of twisted wire (C-Ring), and if they are not tight enough then the stack of the trusses and the insulating blocks get loose. But in order for these twisted ties to be tight the condition (a) above should be satisfied in the first place at all trusses. But even if the conditions (a) and (b) above are satisfied the panel constructed due to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/105,177 will still be several times loose than the currently suggested panel. This is true, since the wire mesh has to be located between ½″ to 1½″ away from the insulating block due to minimum clear cover requirement for cementitious shell. Due to this fact the amount of pressure that can be put on the pile of trusses and insulating blocks by the wire mesh is limited by the stiffness of the truss that is cantilevered out from the insulating foam block by ½″ to 1½″ and the and of the cantilever we have to attach the wire mesh. In contrast to this wire mesh compression construction the current panels are compressed and hold together by the tightening members whose axial stiffness is many times larger than the bending stiffness of the wires of the trusses. Hence the new suggested panels are more compact, tight and held together, than the competition that can get so loose that the foam blocks frequently fall out of the panel.

The trusses in the currently suggest panel can be put at any spacing and are not limited to the multiple of the spacing of the wire mesh as described in Para 6.

Since wire mesh is not a constitutive part of the panel in the current invention, the panel can be built without attaching any wire mesh to it. This gives an easy access for installing utility lines and alike within the wall, without having to cut or work around the wire mesh, and without of necessity to have a wire mesh splice at each panel separation. Once all the utilities are in place a roll of wire mesh can be used to cover over multiple panels.

The panel can be comprised from one or more layers of insulation blocks, leaving a hollow opening in the center of the panel.

The hollow core described above allows for easy installation of the utility lines within the wall.

The hollow core described above allows to use the panels as form blocks for insulated Concrete Form (ICF) type of wall construction. The latter is achieved by filling the hollow core of the panel described in [Para 54] with reinforced concrete for extra structural capacity, insulation and soundproofing.

After the panel is installed at the construction site, and is ready for plastering, the channel (8) can be installed between the cord of the truss (1) and the surface of the foam (4), if the prismatic members (8) that can as constitutive part of the panel are not available at the given location.

Next, the control gauge (26), which can be a PVC pipe or an alternative having similar shape and/or material, is being located in the passage of channel (8). Next, the rail (28), which is made from sheet metal or alternative material, is being tightly screwed into the channel (8) using sheet metal screw (24).

It is understood that similar installation takes place on several locations in the panel in order to create a uniform smooth surface over which the trawling tool will pass and make the finish plaster surface.

During plastering the top of the rails (28) serves as the gauge as how thick the plaster should be. In addition, the rails (28) are used as a support during plastering.

After the plaster surface is ready, the screw (24) should be unscrewed the rail (28) removed. The latter can be reused in a different location and the hole should be patched with a plaster and finished. 

1. A structural composite insulated panel comprising: a plurality of truss members arrayed in substantially parallel relation at a substantially equal interval so as to define a plurality of cells therebetween; an insulating member disposed in each of the plurality of cells, the panel having two opposing elongated side panel surfaces defined by side surfaces of the plurality of cells, and two opposing end panel surfaces defined by the respective end surfaces of two outermost cells of the panel, the two side panel surfaces being substantially perpendicular to the two end panel surfaces and the plurality of truss members; a single pair of prismatic members, each being parallely engaged to the respective side panel surfaces; a pair of locking members, each being at the respective end panel surfaces and engaged thereat to the pair of prismatic members so as to provide compressive locking tension to the insulating members and the plurality of trusses in the panel.
 2. The panel as in claim 1 wherein the pair of prismatic members is a pair of rods.
 3. The panel as in claim 2 wherein both of the locking members are integrally formed with the prismatic member so as to form a closed double U-shaped belt.
 4. The panel as in claim 1 wherein the locking members are sheet metal clips.
 5. The panel as in claim 1 wherein the locking members are clipping ties, the clipping ties having a plurality of protrusions thereon for engaging the channels and retaining the clipping ties therein.
 6. The panel as in claim 1 wherein at least one of the truss members is a ladder truss member having a pair of spaced-apart elongated parallel first ladder truss bars and a plurality of spaced apart elongated second ladder truss bars extending therebetween in perpendicular relationship to the first ladder truss bars to form a ladder configuration
 7. The panel as in claim 1 wherein at least one of the truss members is a warren truss member having a pair of spaced-apart elongated parallel first warren truss bars and a second warren truss bar extending at an angle therebetween in a zigzag configuration. 